Saturday, June 27, 2009

Tayzia Abattoir, the Aho's curator, has again put together an exceptional exhibition combining established and emerging artists. It is Red Randt's first exhibition, and Filthy Fluno is the best known artist to emerge from the virtual world of Second Life to the "real" world, having had a six page article in The New York Times Magazine.

Waningby Feathers Boa

We have previously seen Feathers Boa's "reactive" artwork, but the current show is a leap ahead and is particularly well put together. A series of images with text is on the walls of the gallery, each showing a stage of a woman's life. A feature of the work is that you cannot "camera around" to view it. Each one changes as your avatar approaches it, so if you try to observe this exhibition by standing in one spot, you will not see it. This has been a continually developing aspect of Feathers' works, hence the term "reactive."

In this case the proximity dissolves the woman's image, revealing the remainder of the text. It is a thoughtful and satisfying series. The artist has mastered the technical aspects of this medium and is applying a maturing sense of narrative sequential art and metaphor.

We have seen many artists use interactivity in gimmicky ways, or for its own sake, but in this case it is integral to the work.

This is the first time we have seen Italian artist Maryva Mayo's work, abstract images that are in motion. They are beautiful, but transcend the decorative with a confident sense of spatial depth and interaction of line, form, and transformation.

The influence of abstract expressionism and gesture painting is strong. "La rinascita," for example, evokes Mark Tobey and Rothko.

The images on this page are just snapshots of a moment in each of the works--you have to stay and watch them "perform" to fully experience them.

Cosmic explosion by Maryva Mayo

You also can use your camera to go inside these works and experience them as a full screen light show, as in this internal view of "Dream / Sogni."

Dream / Sogni by Maryva Mayo

The 26 works by Red Randt exhibit a wide variety of techniques, primarily sculptural. Some are stationary, while others are active. "The Wobbly Building" (right) is a flexi prim work that collapses and "inflates."

Several of this artist's works are "hommage,"--tributes to artists including Magritte (a pipe that says "This is not a Magritte") and this "soft" building, which is a tribute to Claes Oldenburg.

The Wobbly Buildingby Red Randt

These works are well done and fun, with a sense of pun and wordplay. The artist's extensive notes, for example, are dispensed by clicking on this sculpture of notes:

Notesby Red Randt

Filthy Fluno continues his exploration of Surrealism, Expressionism and Symbolism with mixed reality works that involve images inspired by his virtual world experiences, executed in real world pastel or oil paint, photographed, digitally manipulated, and imported into Second Life.

In some cases the image is duplicated and flipped, creating a bug-eyed creature from which the multilayered content emerges. The current work reminds us of Alfonso Ossorio.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

If you haven't been to The ArtWorld Market Report website recently take a look at the new format. The archived features now headline the site, making it easier for people who are new to the SL art world to see what has been going on the last few years.

In the past we have directed much of the editorial content of the Report toward Second Life residents, and the language often reflected the assumption that our readers were familiar with and had first-hand experience of life in a virtual world. In the future we will be directing content toward the real-world resident who may have limited or no knowledge of virtual life, presenting the work of artists who use the virtual world as a creative medium.

The goal of this shift is to reach out to the "real" art world with reviews and critical essays that establish virtual art as a recognized field in "New Media" that will enable artists to secure funding for virtual art projects.

If you have theoretical, practical, or critical comments or articles you would like to contribute to this effort, please get in touch with ArtWorld Market.